Chained To The Past
by DarkClerk
Summary: Kylo Ren offered Rey a shared future. What if his offer was more complicated and enticing then she thought? Set two months after the end of Last Jedi. Spoiler alert. Rated M for potential, eventual sexiness.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: I am not a Star Wars superfan who understands the universe across multiple platforms- movies, books, games, etc. Sometimes, I'm just making stuff up. I apologize to the purists 'cause I just don't have time to do that kind of research but I wanted to write this story anyway. Enjoy!_

 _Rey._

In her sleep, the young woman tossed restlessly, clutching at her thin blanket then shoving it aside.

 _Rey._

The voice came again, soft and insistent, this time accompanied by a pulse of emotions- longing, loneliness . . . and then _triumph_.

 _Rey!_

She sat up in bed, panting and sweat drenched. Shaking fingers gripped her face, tugged at her loose hair, "Ben," She whispered into her hands, "What have you done?"

The bond surged in response. For a moment, she saw a pale face, staring at her across parsecs. Rey recoiled, shoving his voice away, slamming the doors closed on their bond.

"No," She ground out, "I will not say that name. I will not listen to you!"

Pushing out of her bunk, she grabbed up her cowl and made for the door. It was early morning still, too dark to be safe outside. But she could run the base corridors until dawn. That was the key- keep moving. Run, and work, and sweat, and train. Push, push, push until sleep was the black abyss of unconsciousness and he couldn't reach her anymore.

When the sun came up, she would go outside and meditate. She would practice with her lightsaber until the sweat poured off her and her vision blurred and her legs shook. I will become stronger, she promised herself. I will find a way to close him out for good.


	2. Chapter 2

Two Days Later. . . .

Rey stepped inside the base, feeling the whoosh of the blast doors close behind her, cutting off the sounds of the jungle. A flood of people streamed down the corridor in front of her and she frowned. It was barely mid afternoon- nowhere near dinnertime. Where were they all going? She joined the flood of people and her eyes fell on Moda Wen, a flight tech she had become friendly with. He smiled at her in the way of his people, ears rustling.

"What's happening?" Rey asked.

He shrugged, "Big news. A communique came from outside. The First Order's finally made a move."

She felt as though a lightsaber had sliced through her torso, cutting her off from her lungs, from breath.

"What?" She tried to form the words but Moda Wen was already gone, spirited away by the push of the crowd. She remembered the echo of fierce satisfaction that had woken her a few nights ago. Was this connected? Ben, a deep treacherous part of her repeated, what have you done?

"Rey!" A familiar voice called, "Rey!"

The Jedi smiled, despite the ache that seemed to have become part of her bones these last months. A second later, Rose emerged, pushing against the flow of people. "There you are! The general sent me to find you!" A small calloused hand gripped Rey's wrist and began to tug her forward.

"Sorry. I was outside-"

"Training," Rose finished for her, "I figured. Geesh. I thought the life of a Jedi would be exciting. But it seems to be all meditating and sweating."

Rey nodded absently, her mind churning with questions, "That does seem to be the case." Was it about the resistance? Was Be- Kylo Ren coming after them?

. . . . was it about her? Was he searching for her?

Rose was still towing her through the crowd which was quickly becoming impassable, "Jirak's balls," She muttered. And added louder, "Don't you people have jobs?! You should all be at your work assignments!" She complained to the press around them.

Finally, with a sigh of complete disgust, Rose dropped her friends' arm and pulled open a panel in the corridor wall. She yanked the small handheld free, shaking out the cord as she pushed the button, "Attention!" She snapped and her voice reverberated through the hallway speakers. The flow of people slowed, "This is Lieutenant Rose Tico! You are all ordered to return to your duty stations! The general will make an announcement soon."

"Boo!" Complained a voice in the back.

"Was that you, Jeb Stell?" She demanded into the handheld, "I'm adding two hours of latrine duty to your assignment roster!"

There was a groan from the same vicinity as the boo.

"What was that?" Rose asked, "You wanted to make it four?"

"No." Came the feeble response.

"Good! Get back to your posts!"

It seemed to take an eternity for the crowd to clear enough for the two women to continue down the hallway. But finally, finally they stood in front of the doors to the command room.

Rose took a deep breath, squaring off in front of the door and Rey suppressed a smile.

The doors opened and they stepped through.

"Rey!" General Organa watched her from across the communications pit, her expression tense. Rey felt her stomach knot. The flow of Force around Leia was agitated, chaotic. Not like its' usual gentle swirl. The general glanced around at the assembled officers, "Rey and I need the room." Her eyes fell on Rose, "Thank you Lt. Tico."

Rose murmured to Rey in a soft voice, "I'll see you at dinner."

Rey nodded in agreement, catching Poe's gaze as he moved toward the door with the other officers. He gave her a sympathetic smile and touched her briefly on the arm as he passed. The touch startled her and when he had gone she rubbed a hand across the skin he had brushed. These little touches had become more frequent as of late. She didn't know what to think of them.

When the room was empty, the general waved her over impatiently, "I want you to watch this."

"What is-"

But the vid was already playing, the projection filling the space above the pit.

"This is Captain Jace Andor of the starship Corvid," The man's face was intelligent but worn. His age somewhere deep into his fourth decade, Rey guessed. He stared out at them, his hesitation at odds with the resolute lines of his face, "I would like to start by assuring you that this intelligence comes from reliable sources, sources I have always trusted without question."

Rey crossed her arms against her stomach, hands gripping her upper arms.

"My source informs me that three days ago, Kylo Ren took a handful of his knights to the Excargan Mining Facility and liberated the 2.5 million workers who had been enslaved there-"

The girl heard herself gasp, and felt Leia's eyes on her.

"The laborers turned on their captors when freed. We have estimates that perhaps as many as 100,000 Excarga Corporation employees have been slaughtered in the uprising. Who knows how long thorilide mining will be disrupted? Furthermore this action seems to be the first move in the establishment of a new regime under Kylo Ren's leadership. He has declared himself an emperor and seems intent on ruling the territories previously controlled by the First Order." His voice continued, strained but steady unlike the frantic beating of Rey's own heart, "What this means for the Resistance, I do not know. I await further instructions." He paused, "May the Force be with us all."

Rey felt her knees give way and she sank into a chair. She gazed up at the general, a deep line etched between her brows, "What does this mean?"

"Rey," Leia asked, sitting down beside her, "Did you have any idea this was going to happen? That he would do something like this?"

The girl recoiled, "No!" She protested, "When we- in the throne room, he offered- he said," She took a deep breath, tried to order her scattered thoughts, "He said, the past had to die. That we could make something new. I don't understand. What is the Excargan Mining Operation?"

The general looked down at her hands, "The E.M.O. is a disgrace, a failure of the Republic and the First Order alike. It's a mining colony operated by the Rapora Alliance. It is also the home of one of the galaxies largest self-sustaining forced labor populations. Or it was."

"2.5 millions people," Rey whispered, "All slaves?"

Leia nodded.

Freed. Kylo Ren freed millions of slaves. And was responsible for the deaths of a hundred thousand more people.

And the dark half of her murmured, _Good_.

They were people! She reminded herself.

They were slavers and the employees of slavers, making their livings off the sweat and pain of other people.

"What does that mean?" Rey asked, "Self-sustained population?"

The general gave her a sad look, "They were born as slaves, Rey."

Bile burned a trail up Rey's throat. Imagine that. Imagine being born in the dark, working your whole life in a tunnel shifting rock for years and dying deep underground, never having seen the stars.

And she thought her life on Jakku had been cruel.

"I don't know what to think." She admitted. But deep down in places she was careful not to touch, something stirred. Something that felt buoyant and wild . . . like hope.

"I don't either." The general answered and Rey glanced up, surprised.

"When you don't know what to do, it generally means you need more information," Leia pushed to her feet and her fingers flew over the control panel. A star map bloomed to life in front of them, "That's why I'm sending you on a mission to gather more information." She nodded to the two points on the map and the path between, "It's a long journey to Excarga even with hyperdrive but we need a first hand account of what happened there. Take Poe, Finn, and Rose with you. I know Chewie's been itching to get out into space again."

Rey felt herself nodding, and stood, eager to get moving, "Yes, General. We'll be gone in the next few hours." When she turned to go, she felt Leia's hand on her arm. She glanced back. The general was looking at her with concern, "Rey, just remember, people do things for a lot of different reasons."

"I don't understand."

"Good people can do bad things. . . and vice versa."

Rey nodded quickly and gently pulled her arm free, "Yes, ma'am." She agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

The Millenium Falcon was too. . . small.

Oh, she was still the most beautiful ship in the galaxy, a dream to pilot, and the ship that made the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs but there wasn't enough _room._ Rey couldn't run fast enough or far enough to exhaust herself. She couldn't train and sweat and swing her lightsaber hard enough in it's narrow corridors. And Rey's command of the Force was still too powerful and sporadic to practice during the delicate process of flying through hyperspace. Without physical exhaustion, she was still _dreaming_.

And . . . she couldn't stop thinking of Excarga. Which meant she couldn't stop thinking about him. His name was in her head, floating to the surface everytime she lost focus. The door she had made in her mind to shut out the bond constantly creeping open. She could hear his voice in the lull between conversations at dinner. She saw his cloak turning corners just ahead of her in the corridors. Once, in the cargo hold, as she pushed herself through set after set of lightsaber forms, she was sure she saw his broad, dark form leaning against the wall. When she swung back around, weapon at the ready, he was gone.

Rey decided if pushing her body wasn't working then she should push her mind instead. She needed a project. Something complex and delicate to command all of her attention. She would strip down and recalibrate the targeting system. By hand.

Three days into their journey, that's where Poe found her- neck-deep below the decking, a tangle of wires and apparatus littering the corridor floor.

"Rey," Poe settled himself on the grating. He couldn't see her clearly among the guts of the ship but he could hear the rustle and occasional exclamation in there somewhere. He tried again, "Rey!"

Her head popped up suddenly, "I'm not listening- oh!" Her eyes landed on him, "Poe. It's you."

He frowned, "Who did you think it was?"

"No one." She answered quickly and pointed, "Hand me that bonding tape."

He picked up a random clump of wires and she shook her head impatiently, "No. The bonding tape."

He tried again.

"No! The- look! Look at where I'm pointing!"

Poe's eyes fixed on a roll of yellow tape at the end of her finger and picked it up hesitantly.

She rolled her eyes, "Yes. Good. Thank you." And moved to duck back down under the decking.

"Wait!" He said, "I wanted to talk to you."

Rey paused and raised one eyebrow expectantly.

"I mean, we're all a little concerned. Is it really smart to be taking the ship apart when we're in hyperdrive?"

She shrugged, "I'm recalibrating the targeting system. It has nothing to do with the hyperdrive. We're fine."

He studied her, eyes serious, "I'm not so sure we are. You, you've been a little . . . manic ever since we got on board." His eyes moved over her face, searching, "If something's bothering you, you can talk to me-"

Rey imagined it. Imagined pouring out her sorrow and confusion to his kind face. She imagined telling him- _Poe, as the result of a series of circumstances I don't fully understand, I am bound mind to mind with the most hated man in the galaxy. I see him. I hear him as though he were in this room with us. He stalks my dreams and only constant vigilance keeps him at bay. I don't know how to sever our bond . . . and I'm beginning to suspect it's because I don't want to. That deep in me there's something so broken, it will cling to any connection._

 _Because I can't stop hoping._

Then she imagined Poe's confusion. His disgust. His rejection. And worse, the rejection of every person on this ship, who constituted almost everyone in the galaxy who seemed to care for her.

"I'm fine," She told him, "Routine maintenance of the secondary weapons systems are important. Especially if we're going into an unknown situation. I want this ship in peak condition, in case-"

"In case of what?"

"Whatever." She gave him a bright smile and disappeared from view, "Thank you!" Her voice was muffled.

Poe watched the hole in the decking for a long time but she didn't emerge again. Eventually, he stood and went back to the others to report his failure.

For almost three days Rey doesn't sleep. She wanted to push herself even farther but in her short time with the Resistance, off Jakku, her body has become accustomed to regular meals, water, and sleep. But the targeting systems are recalibrated finally, from sensors to shooters. Her hand shook as she replaced the last access panel. Her eyes ached. She can probably try sleeping now. With a sigh, she climbed out of the decking and turned her feet toward her room. The ship seemed quiet. What time is is, Rey wondered vaguely. Everyone else must be in bed. But as she turned the corridor on the way to her room, Rey came face to face with Rose.

Rey felt a moment of relief. If she is so tired that she can't feel Rose coming, she is probably safe to sleep.

The smaller woman took one look at Rey's worn face and gasped, "You look like- like bantha crap."

Rey chuckled softly, "Thanks. The calibration is done. I'll get some rest now."

To her surprise, Rose slipped under her arm, encouraging her to lean into her. It felt. . . good. Maybe, she was more tired than she realized. She had been gulping down tyxon tea to help keep herself awake and the stimulant was catching up to her.

Rey protested anyway, "Rose, I'm fine. On Jakku-"

"On Jakku, you didn't have anyone to care about you. Now, you do." Pressing the plate to open the door to the other girl's room, Rose helped her inside. Settling Rey on the bed, Rose studied her critically, "You really should get in the refresher- you're filthy- and eat something decent. But I think you're just going to have to sleep first."

Rey nodded her agreement. The room was growing fuzzy. She moved to fall over but a small hand stopped her. Crouching down, Rose tugged her boots off, setting them side by side next to the door. She pulled the covers back and helped Rey burrow underneath.

When was the last time she been tucked into bed?

Tears gathered at the corners of Rey's eyes. She clenched her eyelids tight against them and whispered into the blankets, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Rose murmured and stepped toward the door. She paused and added, "I don't know anything about the Force or Jedi problems, but if there is something I can do for you, some way I can help you- I'd do it. You just have to ask."

When Rey doesn't answer, Rose turned off the lights and disappeared through the door.

Rey sighed to the empty room, "I want things I shouldn't and I don't know how to stop."


	4. Chapter 4

There's someone in her room.

Not someone. Him.

Rey's heart constricts in her chest and she keeps her eyes tightly closed. She has to push him away. That's her duty. What everyone expects. _Kark,_ she's just so _tired_.

He isn't saying anything. Just standing there. Can he see her, too?

She gropes inside herself for bond to shut him out but questions are crowding up her throat. Why? Why did he do that? Where is he now? What are his plans? . . . does he feel like there's a hole inside him that will never be filled?

She doesn't say anything either.

The truth is, it hurts just a little less with him standing there and she's ashamed of her own weakness.

It doesn't occur to her to be afraid. If he wanted to hurt her there would be a lot more noise. He'd come in raging, swinging that awful lightsaber of his like a devil.

The still air of the room moves against her face and there's a feeling of pressure on the bed, like someone sitting just on the edge. Staying limp, she rolls just a little toward it. Like a piece of space trash pulled into a gravity well, she thinks. Space trash seems particularly accurate. She hears his voice in her head. _Scavenger. Not part of the story. Nothing._

There is rustling sound and she stiffens for exactly the space of one breath as gentle fingers slide over her hair. He tucks a strand behind her ear. Repeats the caress. She relaxes under the touch. Rey stretches out her own hand, her fingers brush the fabric of his pants- his knee she thinks. Strong and bony under the fine weave. His skin is hot, feverish even, on her temple and under her hand. He pauses and so does she, each of them touching the other with just fingertips.

"I miss you," She breathes and sleep drags her under again.


	5. Chapter 5

Rey made her way down the corridor of the Falcon. She had rested and showered and now her stomach was demanding that she put something in it. Even a loaf of Unkar Plutt's algae bread would do at the moment.

As she exited the corridor into the lounge, she found Rose, laying plates around the table.

"You look better!" Rose greeted her with a big smile.

"Thanks. I feel better." Rey confessed, "And I'm just in time for breakfast!"

Finn and Poe laughed as they entered opposite her, Chewie just behind them.

"You missed breakfast," Rose explained.

"How long was I asleep?"

"Sixteen hours, give or t-"

"Sixteen hours?! Why did you let me sleep so long?"

"You needed it," Finn answered for them all, as he slid into the booth.

Rey opened her mouth to protest but stopped. She did feel better. Remarkably better. Something in her felt . . . soothed. Like the rent pieces of her heart were knitting themselves back together.

The power of a good night's sleep, maybe.

She glanced over the smiling faces circling the table. Or the power of being valued and cared for, maybe.

Did _he_ have that? She wondered.

He had Leia and Han, Rey answered the doubting little voice sharply.

. . . but did he? He was just a child and they sent him to a man who was afraid to love him. A man who tried to kill him in his sleep.

The thought pushed the air from her lungs. What. . . what would she have done, if she hadn't had hope on Jakku? She had clung to the thought that her parents would come for her. Making her belief the anchor that kept her together, allowed her to survive mostly intact.

But Be- _he_ had known no one was coming for him. What would she have done in his place?

Rey could hear the snarl and sizzle of a crimson light saber cutting through the air. From the corner of her eye, she saw the red streak, followed by a flash of darkness. He was so much faster than-

"How are we supposed to do this anyway?" Finn's voice cut through her thoughts, slamming the door shut on the bond and dragging her to the present.

"What do you mean?" Poe asked piling textured protein onto a plate. He gestured at Rey and then at the place beside him. She took the plate and settled down at the table.

"Well," Finn explained, "Do we just set down in the cargo bay, open the doors and yell 'Hey! We're from the Resistance! Tell us what happened here!'?"

"Oh!" Rose leapt to her feet, "I have a solution!" She punched a series of commands into the wall unit.

Rey felt a smile bend her mouth.

A second later, they were all lifting plates and shifting glasses so the holo could play without obstruction. It was an ad-vid. Excarga was looking for workers, preferably for families or couples looking to settle down and start a life. The ad promised a comfortable wage, lodgings, and schooling for children. Not so long ago an ad like this would have fueled weeks of daydreams. She and her family making a home someplace safe, where they could live comfortably. . .

"I figured we could pose as couples looking for work. Finn and I," Rose explained, "And Rey and Poe."

"I don't-"

"That's a great idea!" Rey's objection disappeared under Finn's praise.

Rose slid into the booth beside Finn and blushed when he pressed a kiss into her cheek.

"Smart thinking, Rose," Poe nodded in approval. Then he turned to Rey, "What do you think, Mrs. Dameron?"

" _We can't use that name_."

They all stared at her.

"It's just- " She stuttered under the weight of their shocked gazes, "it's just that the First Order knows that name," She gave Poe a strained smile, "It's not safe."

He nodded slowly, "You're probably right. How about Gotra? It was my mother's name."

"Good. Pretty," She added and shoveled some protein into her mouth.

"Mr. and Mrs. Gotra, pilot and mechanic eagerly seeking a better life and a fresh start."

"And not," Finn added, "Spies of any kind".


	6. Chapter 6

Rey watched over Chewie's shoulder as they made their approach. Excarga provided to be bigger than she could have imagined. Hundreds, maybe thousands of ships swarming around it like sand bees around a nest. The complex of mines, labs, processing facilities, living quarters and cargo bays infected the planet, burrowing deep underground and then erupting onto the surface. It was arid here, not a sand desert- too rocky for that but dry. Dry and cool with little to break up the monotony of gray stone but what was man made.

As they passed into the atmosphere, the girl watched the line separating night from day approaching them and frowned. The comm crackled and hummed and suddenly the cabin was full of the sounds of screams, pleas for mercy, weeping.

So much pain, so much despair . . . Rey pressed her hands to her ears trying to block out the horrible noise-

"Hrrrngh?" Chewie asked her and just like that the screams were gone.

Rey ran her hands over the control panel, scanning the dash frantically but nothing. No evidence that they had received a signal of any kind.

"Nothing," She assured Chewie, "I just thought I heard something, that's all,".

Would she ever get used to the Force and it's visions?

When the comm squawked to life in reality, Rey jumped and the wookie gave her another sideways look before answering. After a brief exchange with the central dispatch, they were directed to a cargo bay where job seekers were being sorted and interviewed.

"I'll let the others know we're here," She told Chewie.

Poe hit the button and the cargo doors opened with a hiss. He glanced at Finn and Rose "We meet back here by oh-nine-hundred. Got it?"

They nodded and he grinned, "Be safe."

The couple echoed the sentiment and Rose gave Rey's hand a quick squeeze "See you soon,"

Rey smiled and nodded in return. When Rose and Finn had disappeared into the crowd, Poe turned to her, "You ready for this?"

She shrugged, "I guess I'll have to be."

"What?" His eyes searched her face, "What's bothering you? This is easy- just a little fact finding."

Rey hesitated but he waited and eventually she admitted, "I'm not-" She found herself blushing, "I'm not a very good liar."

Poe looked confused for a second and then a smile bloomed across his face, "Well, then, how about you leave the lying to me and just do what you're good at?"

"Droid repair?" She offered.

His eyes were steady on her face, "Seeing people," He answered and she felt herself blink.

Was she good at that?

He held his hand out to her and she took it reluctantly, "It'll be okay," he promised.

After hours of waiting, they were shown to seats in the corner of a room filled with tables. A mess hall, Rey guessed. There was a smell in the air, like old protein and the furniture had a greasy, worn look. Today, the room was crowded with people but no one was eating. Rey's eyes swept the crowd. All job seekers she assumed. People hungry for the chance at a better life.

A man stood to greet them when they approached. He was massive, over a hands length taller than Poe, and broad in the shoulder. His exposed arms were heavy with muscle and bigger around than her thighs. A mountain of a man, Rey thought. He was even the color of a mountain seen from a distance, a dusty and elusive blue.

The man nodded to them both in turn and gestured to himself, "Selvor Noon, Foreman," He sat and they followed suit across the table from him.

Poe gave the miner one of his winning smiles, "I'm Pell Gotra and this is my wife Rey,". The girl nodded when the big man's eyes fell on her.

"What sort o' work you looking for?" The miner asked, and Poe started in on their agreed story. He was a pilot. His wife was a mechanic. . .

Rey felt her attention wander and she studied the blue skinned foreman. The big man's face was impassive as he listened to Poe. Even the pilot seemed to wilt under his unblinking stare though he never strayed from their story. The foreman had no visible body hair, no eyebrows, no hair on his head or the backs of his hands. His ears tapered to sharp points following the curve of his skull at an angle to the corners of his eyes. Rey tried to remember what she had learned in her briefing about Excarga. The planet's original sentient species had lived underground and had been. . . conscripted to the mines hundreds of years ago. In that time, they had been bred and even altered to make the ideal underground workers.

Her eyes traced over the hard planes of Selvor Noon's face.

Rey could see under his jaw, the skin gnarled and shiny- a scar. Her eyes fell. And there just peeking over the collar of his shirt at the juncture where neck meets shoulder- another scar. It's edges disappearing in both directions under the fabric.

He noticed her gaze and the foreman cut Poe off mid-sentence "Electro-collar," He told her, pulling on his shirt to reveal more of the mark. He tilted his head back and she saw that the scar ran all along the underside of his chin.

Rey felt her face contort in horror and then settle into sorrow, "I'm sorry," she said, her voice thick. She touched her wrist where the slave band had once sat.

The miner's eyes flicked down and she saw the recognition in them.

"Not to worry," He assured her, "I'll never be tied again. No one on this rock will be." He promised. On the table, his hand curled into a fist, "There are no chains in the Gray Empire".

Poe shifted in his chair and she remembered their mission. "What do you mean?".

"That's what the Emperor told us," Selvor Noon's expression turned dreamy, "Just before he cut the masters down and set us free,".

"How do you know that?" Poe's voice sounded loud and heads turned toward them. He lowered his voice, "How could you know what he said? Were you in the control room-"

"Nah," Selvor waved his heavy hand, "It was broadcast on every vidscreen. It was shift change and most of the crews were either rising up from the mines or headed down. Me 'n crew Twelve-Ten were in the eastward main waiting for our lift when it came over the screen."

"But why-" Rey wondered.

He answered her question before she could even finish asking, "They use the screens to give orders. Can't use comms in the tunnels," He tapped his ear, "drillings too loud. Screens are everywhere. So, he was everywhere."

"No one's quite clear- on the outside- about what happened," Rey offered.

"And you'd like to know?"

Rey and Poe exchanged a glance, "Yes, please. If this is going to be our home. . ."

Selvor Noon's eyes fell again to her wrist and she resisted the urge to cover it, though there was no scar. She had always been small and skinny. The cuff had not fit tightly enough to scar, not like the miner's collar.

After a moment, Selvor nodded, "Alright, then. Like I said, me 'n the crew were waiting in the eastward main, and old Maldoon was mastering that day. And whenever you were under Var Maldoon you knew it would be a bad 'un. Meanest _lek'ta'cho_ I ever saw- loved to shock the collars, loved to use the cauter-whip," His expression turned dark, "Him that was killed my granda- beat her unconscious with the whip then finished her off with a rock. Said anyone too slow to make quota was trash and he knew what to do with trash."

The room grew darker like the terrible memory had reached through time to stain the present. Rey shivered.

Poe asked gently, "What happened next?".

Selvor Noon shook his head as though to clear it, "Vidscreen popped on. We could see all these toff masters, swanking around in a bright white room- full of screens and buttons and all- Master control room it turns out. I knew Harrick Den from the fortnight addresses, president of site for Excarga and a couple of the others. But there were three I didn't know, all in black and gray they was. Toffs probably but not soft and fat and shiny looking. Hard. Hard and sharp as knife blades they looked and making the soft ones as nervous as could be. Two of 'em wore black helmets. The third was him. Tall and pale," He turned to Rey, "pale like you. With a heavy black cloak and a voice like the dark of a mineshaft."

Rey's hands slid into her lap and wrapped around each other. Her fingers were icy cold, "And then?".

"He was a talkin'- in that night smooth voice- he asked how much the mines had made in the last year. And old Harrick Den says thousands an' millions- all for the glory of the First Order. And the tall one says the First Order is dead an' he'll build something better on it's bones. Something true. Starting with this mine. He says this mine is now a part of the Gray Empire and he looks straight at us- straight at every single worker- and says, 'There are no chains in the Empire'."

Rey could hear the echo of Kylo's voice in her head, could imagine his dark eyes burning across vidscreen after vidscreen.

"You ever seen an electro-collar?" Selvor asked suddenly.

Poe shook his head but Rey nodded reluctantly.

"Makes a little humming noise, all the time, like a bloodfly buzzin'. Never stops. Becomes so much a part of the world, you can't hear it," The miner explained. " 'Cept just before the shock hits. The noise goes up- louder, higher- so you know what's coming. But he said 'no chains', just like that 'no chains in the empire' and the noise stopped. Gone. And the magnet cuffs," He held his arms up so they could see the marks on his wrists, "they fell away. And we were all staring at each other. And then we were staring at the vidscreen 'cause he was moving like a blur and the masters were falling, one after another. An' I swear the mine shook and moaned like the ones that came before were crying out- I could hear my granda's voice, just before she fell. And we looked at Var Maldoon and for the first time I saw a master afraid." He took a ragged breath, then raised his chin, "And I knew I would never wear chains again."


	7. Chapter 7

Rey followed Poe absently through the crowds milling around the port as they made their way back to the Millenium Falcon. Her mind churned with the things Selvor Noon had told them. What was Be- _he_ doing? What did he hope to gain? Followers? But these people had little power, on a galactic scale. The First Order had the support of the powerful people they had made wealthy. Why alienate them for the sake of a planet full of miners?

She heard Leia's voice in her mind, "Good people can do bad things . . . and vice versa."

Was this a good thing? All those people dead. . . Surely, some of them were innocent.

Rey imagined Selvor Noon's granda, beaten to death in a pitch black tunnel because she was too old to meet quota. Many innocent people had died for this place, Rey felt that in her bones. But-

Poe stopped abruptly and she paused just fast enough to avoid running into him. He glanced back at her and smiled, "You haven't said much," he offered.

"I don't know what to make of all of it," Rey admitted.

He nodded and started to walk again, falling into step beside her, "Yeah, Kylo Ren never struck me as a freedom fighter."

The young woman nodded, her eyes catching on the sight of the Falcon, "I wish we had something more to bring back to the general. Nothing we've learned makes any sense."

He made an indelicate sound, his voice dripping sarcasm, "The Grey Empire- how may empires does the galaxy need?" and tapped his com, "Chewy, we're back. Could you open the door, please?"

The hold doors lowered with a hiss and they climbed aboard. The door was just shutting behind them when Rose came around the bend in the corridor, "There you are! What took you so long?".

"The line for interviews was-"

"Never mind that now!" Rose interrupted, "There's been a message from the general!"

Rey and Poe exchanged a look, their steps quickening toward the cockpit.

"What did she say?" Rey asked.

"I didn't watch it," Rose answered over her shoulder.

"Why not?"

"It's not marked for me. She sent it to you and Poe."

The pilot smiled, "You're a good lieutenant, Rose."

She blinked and then beamed in pleasure, "Thank you, Commander."

While Rey agreed that Rose was a fine officer, she could have done with a little less suspense. A cold sweat had broken out across the back of her neck and she could hear the force whispering, always whispering. Something had happened. Something significant.

Finally, they reached the cockpit and Chewy greeted them loudly. Rey smiled and offered the wookie a conciliatory pat on the shoulder, "I know," She answered his complaint, "The lines were long. Can we see Leia's message, please?"

Rose turned to go and Rey reached out to stop her, "It's fine. Please, stay,".

She was rewarded by the other girls shy smile and nod of agreement. They all turned to the small screen in the dash. The general's face appeared, large in the limited frame of the screen. This close Rey could see how tired and drawn the general looked. It had not been that long since she had been seriously injured, the girl remembered. She should be resting and healing not beating her body into a ruin to keep the resistance going. Again, Rey felt her own inadequacies. She should be doing more to take the burden from Leia. But she had been so caught up trying to close the bond. . .

The general spoke, her voice steady but grave, "I can't be sure when this message will reach you but I send it in the hopes you will see it in time. We've had a communication from," she gave the tiniest of pauses, "the Gray Emperor. He wishes to parlay. He has offered us a meeting to deal peace at a place of our choosing in ten days. I've chosen the old Jedi ruins on Ilum. The Emperor has agreed to meet me with only two attendants, if I will make the same promise," She seemed to look right at Rey, "Rey, he's requested you specifically," The general glanced down, "I'm sorry to ask this of you but I need more information and if this is a trap, you are the only person I know who is a match for him. Poe, I'd like you to stand with me as well," Her eyes steady and grave, seemed to met theirs from across light years, "Get to Ilum as soon as you can. I'll be there."


End file.
